Terrorism Has Nothing to Do with Religion: Syrian Mufti
DAMASCUS (Tasnim) - Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun slammed terrorism as an offspring of ignorance and political issues, stressing that it has nothing to do with any religion or sacred values.
Speaking to Tasnim in Syria's capital on Saturday, Hassoun, the highest religious authority in the country, said terrorism is born out of "politics and ignorance" and has no links with religion and religious values.
Anyone who attributes terrorism to Islam, Christianity, or Sunni and Shiite denominations is ignorant about the nature of terrorism, he added.
The cleric also called for the employment of "all necessary tools" to counter terrorism.
Hassoun made the comments on the sidelines of the International Media Conference against Terrorism in Damascus.
Intellectuals and journalists from Iran, Russia, Cuba, Spain, China, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Cyprus, Britain, Germany and Kuwait took part in the two-day conference.
The main theme of the conference is to study the role of media in the campaign against terrorism.
The conference was attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, the country's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, Iran’s Culture Minister Ali Jannati, Hojatoleslam Ali Karimian, the secretary general of the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union and key media figures from Iran and a number of other Islamic states.